Standards of the Breed

GENERAL APPEARANCE

The American Dirus™ is a giant, wild-looking dog that stands calm and alert. He possesses a thick, dense bone structure, a broad stature, and an impressive head. His look includes that of a gentle intelligence with a bit of secrecy in his slanted yellow-eyed stare. He is powerful, heavy, aware of his surroundings, well-muscled, and calmly alert. He is well balanced and longer than he is tall. Exhibiting a unique combination of a wild-like appearance and a calm, gentle disposition, his soundness of mind and body gives the impression of stability and loyalty.

CHARACTER

The American Dirus is fearless and bold but never hostile or aggressive. He moves slowly in a sleek manner sniffing the air currents. He is self-confident, poised and inquisitive, but may possess a certain aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate friendships. He should never be timid or nervous, but hold a more solid and laid-back temperament of curiosity. He should be approachable, quietly standing with confidence and willingness.

Developed solely for companionship, he is not a working or herding dog and does not possess high prey drive or the extreme willingness to work or do work. He does possess a strong desire to be close to his master. Therefore, he does not wander or roam.

As a puppy, this breed is clownish and loving with a tendency to get as close to his owner’s body as possible even leaning into his master to be sure of his master's attention and presence.

SOUND

Sound: The American Dirus has a deep and low pitched guttural tone. Barking is infrequent. They do not have a tendency to whine. A high-pitched bark is undesirable.

Serious Faults: Elaborate barking for no reason and/or a high-pitched, amplified vocalization is a serious fault.

SIZE, PROPORTION, SUBSTANCE

Size: The highest point of the withers should be between 30 inches and 33 inches in males, and between 28 inches and 30 inches in females. The weight should appear heavy due to the large bones, with a minimum of 115 pounds in males and 100 pounds in females.

Proportion: The American Dirus is longer than he is tall. He is a balanced dog with a solid structure. The overall length of this breed is to be measured from the chest bone to the tip of the tail.

Substance: The American Dirus is a dog of considerable substance, which is determined by a broad back, chest, and thigh area, heavy bone, and strong muscle.

Serious Faults: Small or thin bones, a shallow chest, a thin chest, and a thin rump are serious faults.

HEAD

The head of an American Dirus is very broad and large, sloping slightly from between the yellow eyes down to the deep black nose, closely resembling the prehistoric dire wolf. The head is of distinctive importance, as it is this head that holds the wolfish yellow-eyed stare. The head is broad and deep, never thin or small in proportion to the body. The skull is longer than the muzzle. This head must rest on a large, short, thick neck and must be held parallel with the ground almost on a level with the shoulders and the back. The American Dirus should have a short coat of hair on the head and face. The coat should begin to lengthen as it starts down the neck to the shoulders where the hair is the longest.

Skull: The skull is measured from the point of the stop to the far most point of the occiput. From the occiput to the stop should be 6 to 8 inches. The skull is broad and should allow an extended hand between the ears. From the broadest part of the skull around the head closest to the throat should be 18 to 22 inches. It is slightly rounded, never domed, gradually narrowing and flattening as it approaches the eyes. The stop should slope gently from the eyes down to the muzzle.

Muzzle: The muzzle should be large and thick. The lips should be close fitting and deep black in color with large white teeth. From the stop between the eyes to the front teeth should be 4.5 to 6 inches. The upper and lower jaws should be broad with his large teeth closing in a scissors bite. The total muzzle should be slightly shorter than the head is deep. The circumference of the muzzle should be between 11 to 13 inches.

Eyes: His eyes are an almond shape, medium to small, and set obliquely. Light eyes are preferred with colors ranging from yellow to light amber. The eyes should have a look of deep black eyeliner around the eye and out from the corners of the eyes.

Ears: His ears are triangular in shape and slightly rounded at the tips. They are set wide apart and set on the outside back edges of the skull. The ears are wedge-shaped, erect and small in comparison to the head, as well as tipped with deep black hairs to form an outline around the ear. When alerted his ears turn forward. When shamed his ears will turn sideways and lay back along the sides of the skull. From the inside of the skull to the tip of the ear should not be more than 5 inches in length.

Teeth: 42 in number, 20 upper and 22 lower, the teeth are strong and large and come together in a scissors bite in which part of the inner surface of the upper incisors meet and engage part of the outer surface of the lower incisors. The jaw should never be over or undershot.

Serious Faults: A large round eye is a serious fault, as is a small refined head, dark eyes, undershot or overshot jaws, and a long narrow muzzle.

NECK, TOPLINE, BODY

Neck: The neck is robust, well muscled, strong and powerful. It is short in length and thick in circumference. The carriage of the head is forward and in line or slightly higher than the shoulders, never held high with extended reach or propulsion.

Topline: The topline is level from the back of the withers to the croup. The back is solid, broad, and muscular. When gated, the back should remain level, with the dog seeming to float across the ground.

Body: The chest is broad. The rib cage is well sprung and of sufficient depth to reach below the elbows. The back and loin are broad and strong. The tail is an extension of the body and comes out from the top of the croup. The impression is solid and well-built.

Serious Faults:

FOREQUARTERS

Shoulders: The shoulders should be slightly sloping, wide apart, heavy and muscular without any tendency toward looseness of shoulders. The shoulders are well muscled and lie close to the body. They may be slightly more pronounced and therefore slightly taller than the straight level of the topline.

Forelegs: The leg bones are straight to the pasterns, which are short and strong being bent only slightly. The black coloring may extend upward from the pads into the leg. The forelegs are heavily boned and set wide apart because of the width of the chest. When walking or trotting, the forelegs should not come together in the middle of the body, but should fall straight down as much as possible to be in line with the shoulders.

Front Feet: The feet are large, heavy, round and slightly splayed or wide with well-arched toes. The pads on the bottom of the feet are black as well as thick and tough. They should have black toenails. The American Alsatian is sure footed even when stalking. The imprints of this breed’s feet are huge and spread out well to carry the heaviness of this dog. The imprint can be measured as wide as 7 to 8 inches.

Serious Faults: Any indication of unsoundness in legs or feet standing or moving is to be considered a serious fault.

HINDQUARTERS

The American Dirus is broad and powerfully muscled through the thighs. The rear assembly is powerful, muscular, and heavily boned. Viewed from the rear, the legs are straight and parallel. Viewed from the side, the thighs are broad and fairly long. His stifles are moderately bent. His hocks should be set wide apart.

Rear Legs: The legs of the American Dirus must indicate an unusual strength and tremendous propelling power. They are broad and heavily muscled through the thighs. When viewed from the rear, the hind legs come straight down from the hips to the ground.

Hind Feet: The feet are very large and wide with compact toes, well-arched pads, thick and tough. He is sure footed even when stalking. The pads of the feet are always dark in pigmentation. The imprints of this breed’s feet are huge and spread out well to carry the heaviness of this dog.

Tail: The tail should only reach down to the hocks, never sweeping, curling or long. Shorter is more acceptable than longer. The tail should be wide at the root, tapering to the end. The tail should be well furred, hanging down when at rest and not curved. The tail should never hide under the body or between the legs in a gesture of fear or discomfort. He may carry his tail high when excited yet never curling tightly and never curled over the back. A straight tail is the ideal.

Serious Faults: Any indication of unsoundness in legs or feet standing or moving is to be considered a serious fault.

COAT

The outer coat is moderately coarse and thicker during the winter months. It should not be too long, but moderately dense, slightly oily and slightly woolly with thicker fur around the neck. The coat is shorter and thinner during the summer months as the undercoat almost entirely sheds out with ease. The coat becomes thick and woolly again during the winter months. The head, inner ears, face, legs and paws should be covered with short hair. The neck and tail should be covered in long hair. The dog's face should be framed with long, thick cheek fur.

Serious Faults: Faults in coat include soft, silky, feathering, furnishings, too woolly and/or curly.

COLOR AND MARKINGS

The American Dirus varies in color, but the black and silver wolf sable are the most desirable. Colors are as follows: silver wolf sable, gold wolf sable, tri-wolf sable showing both gold and silver, or dominant black. Noses always remain black and the skin should be dark in pigmentation. Ears are outlined in black as well as the tip of the tail. Muzzles are black at birth. Dark muzzles lighten with the years, but the nose should always remain black no matter the color of the muzzle. The color of the dog should never, ever be judged over character, temperament or conformation!

Serious Faults: excessive white spotting, recessive red, fawn, vitiligo

GAIT

The rear legs should have drive, while the forelegs should track smoothly with good reach, but never a high step. In motion, the legs move straight forward. The fast walk is smooth and the topline hardly moves, but glides along with the dog. The dog’s head should be in line with his body or slightly higher, but never jetting and pulling the owner with unleashed energy. The gait should flow with a sense of caution or hunting, yet never nervous or afraid. Even while trotting or gaiting in a ring this breed shall always be aware of his handler/owner and movements or noises around him. The propulsion should come from the hindquarters while the front takes the thrust, balance, and coordination.